ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of the June 2, 2005 Meeting
Members Present:
Fred Anderson Scott Burnside Ron Haggett
Renee Rabideau Ed Rowehl Brian Sawich
Alex Snow
Members Absent:
Bob Bethel Bob Edwards
Attendees:
Bill Prokop, Town Administrator
Mike Genest, Chairman, Board of Selectmen
Ben Pratt, Selectman
Marsha Morrow, Monadnock Ledger
Chairman Burnside opened the meeting at 7:00 pm by designating Ms. Rabideau to sit for Mr. Bethel and Mr. Snow to sit for Mr. Edwards. The first order of business was a joint meeting with the selectmen to discuss the that portion of Ashley Road off of Elm Ave. which would be used to access a subdivision being proposed by Mr. & Mrs. Lauber. The Laubers have agreed to pave that portion of Ashley Road from Elm Ave to a point 75 feet past the intersection of Green Ridge Road and will ask the selectmen to accept that segment as a Class V town maintained road. The question was whether the selectmen would approve a petition from the Laubers to accept the road. If the selectmen did not accept the road the planning board would have to decide if a waiver should be granted to permit a subdivision off a Class VI road. Mr. Genest said that the Select
Board would make a determination before the June 16th continuation of the public hearing on the subdivision application.
The next order of business was a discussion with the selectmen on the pros and cons of adopting a subdivision regulation that would essentially prohibit the creation of new private roads in town. One of the arguments against private roads is that the associations which are formed to maintain them usually do not hold up and that the roads deteriorate. Homeowners often bring their grievances to town hall. Mr. Genest expressed concern that the town would be burdened with a number of short dead end roads which would be expensive and difficult to plow and maintain. Mr. Prokop presented some rough figures which indicated that the taxes generated from the property owners would barely cover the additional costs of town maintenance. He suggested that instead of prohibiting private roads another approach might be to write the regulation wording into
the deeds which would permit the town to tax the private road, charge an annual inspection fee and collect damages for the lack of maintenance. Mr. Haggett expressed concern that a current Board of Selectmen may be receptive to accepting new town roads but a different Board might not be. That raised the question as to whether or not the selectmen could deny a petition to accept a subdivision road if the planning board required it. Mr. Pratt felt that as a rule, private roads lead to a number of problems over the years and if a means could be found to avoid them it would be desirable. He suggested that other towns such a Jaffrey be studied to see how they handle the creation of roads. Mr. Haggett felt that State regulations regarding town roads should be researched. Following extensive discussion related to the aforementioned topics, it was the consensus that a good deal of research on the subject of private roads was required. The secretary was instructed to research all the
possible legal ramifications as well as find out what the policy was in a number of the surrounding towns.
The members then discussed with the selectmen a procedure to be followed for the collection of fees for subdivision plan reviews and for subdivision construction monitoring. One possibility would be to establish individual escrow accounts for each applicant. Mr. Prokop felt that escrow accounts per se were not necessary and that monies could be deposited to the general fund and then disbursed to the firm providing the services. The consensus of the board and the selectmen was that such fees should be collected from the applicant prior to a decision to approve or disapprove an application. The secretary was instructed to draft escrow agreement forms for the collection of such fees which would be acceptable to the selectmen.
The secretary was asked to contact Mr. Pitsas of Underwood Engineering to determine the size of the bond or letter of credit that would be required to cover the cost of the road construction in the Mulhall Heights Subdivision as well as the cost of construction of the fire pond. The Fire Chief’s approval of drawings for the fire pond is still pending and the secretary was asked to expedite them.
Mr. Haggett moved to accept the minutes of the May 19, 2005 meeting as corrected. Mr. Rowehl seconded the motion which passed.
Various members commented on the site walk of the Lauber subdivision which was attended by Ms. Rabideau and Messrs. Burnside, Edwards, Haggett, Rowehl, Sawich, Snow and Pratt. One observation was that a good portion of Ashley Road would have to be raised. Mr. Burnside felt that the road should be extended at least 75 feet beyond the intersection with Green Ridge Road to allow for the turnaround of snow removal equipment. He also felt that it might be desirable to allow smaller shoulders then those called for in the regulation if it would allow a traveled way of 20 feet.
A draft of covenants for the High Hill Association was presented. Discussion was deferred until the next meeting to give the members a chance to review the document.
Ms. Rabideau suggested that something be written into the regulations that establish the method for determining slope calculation other than USGS maps. She felt the interpolation of the 20-foot contours on the maps to five-foot intervals did not provide accurate slope calculations. The secretary will draft such a change to the regulation.
Mr. Haggett reported that the Capital Improvement Committee would meet on June 15th to elect a chairman and develop instructions and forms for the collection of information from the various departments. The secretary distributed various correspondences. There were no reports from the Transportation, Open Space or Growth committees. Mr. Haggett moved to adopt a new form recommended by SWRPC when advertising public notices. Mr. Sawich seconded the motion which passed. Discussion of proposed by-laws for the planning board was deferred until the next meeting.
Mr. Haggett moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Sawich seconded the motion which passed. Mr. Burnside adjourned the meeting at 9:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul L. Vasques, Secretary
Antrim Planning Board
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